Last week we learned all about how to moisturize your high porosity hair beginning with wash day. Now we are moving right along to moisturizing and sealing your hair after washing. There are two main type of ingredients we want to look for water soluble and water in-soluble films.
Water Soluble
Water soluble products are able to dissolve in water. These are important as they provide your first level of moisture to your wet strands. The best water-soluble ingredients are plant gels such as aloe vera gel, flaxseed gel, okra gel, and slippery elm gel. For some high porosity hair, humectants may provide a level of moisture to the hair; however, many high porosity naturals indicate that they further aid in causing frizz. Such products as glycerin, panthenol and honey can be introduced or avoided in your regimen.
Another great water-soluble barrier are hydrolyzed proteins. These proteins add a coating or barrier to the strand which helps prevent moisture loss, locking the moisture in and preventing its escape. Finding leave-in that contain these ingredients are key to infusing in moisture and providing the first layer of defense against dry hair.
Products to look for the contain moisturizing water-soluble ingredients within the first 2-3 ingredients are:
Kinky Curly Knot Today
Curls Crème Brulee Curl Cream
Alikay Naturals Lemongrass Leave in
Miche Lavish leave-in conditioner
Unkle Funky’s Daughter Curly Stimulator
Mielle Avocado Moisturizing Milk
Water In-Soluble
Water in-soluble products are incapable of dissolving in water. These ingredients ae important for preventing the water-soluble ingredients from escaping by sealing or locking in the moisture. Ingredients to look for are emulsifiers such as behentronium methosulfate, cetyl alcohol, ceterayl alcohol and light to heavy oils such as jojoba, almond, or Jamaican black Castor Oil. These ingredients can generally be found in the leave in and creams that were aforementioned but should also be added as an additional layer to seal in that moisture.
Products to look for that are great water-insoluble sealants are:
Tailored Beauty Everything Butter
Naturalology Mango butter
As I am Double Butter Cream
Now that you know which products to look for, lets focus on 3 techniques to help lock in this moisture.
LOC
Liquid, Oil, Cream (LOC) Method requires using a liquid leave in, some prefer water and aloe, a sealing oil, followed by a cream based heavier leave in.
LOCA
Liquid, Oil, Cream, Acid (LOCA) Method requires using the same liquid leave in, oil, and cream but followed up with an acidic base spray. Many will use Aloe Vera and water or Apple Cider Vinegar and water. This spritz helps to shock the cuticles into laying them closed.
LCOB
Liquid, Cream, Oil, Butter (LCOB) Method requires using a liquid leave in, followed up with a cream, then a penetrating/sealing oil and then a heavy butter. Butters such as Shea Butter, Mango Butter, or Cocoa butter are commonly used.
Which method works best for you?
Check out some other tips in this video below!
